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Optical Illusion or Just a Lack of Comparison?

In the Light of Day, 10X10," Oil on Panel

Some paintings seem to have optical illusion properties, and I don't mean intentionally built-in techniques. One 10 x 10 inch painting can "read" as 30 x 30 inches , whereas a similar small painting "reads" as a small painting. What's with that?

  Sidney Oliver

Without something to use for comparison, things are difficult to gauge, hence misreading occurs.

To get an accurate read, a comparison needs to take place.

The more we have to compare, the more accurate we will be.

Perhaps I need to take more shots of the studio like this to give the viewer a point of reference regarding painting size.

Think of actors who often exaggerate their height. In getting ready for Creative to Creative, I took photographs of actress Betsy Brantley's photographs for a slideshow. Betsy picked up several snapshots taken on location during a movie. She asked if I recognized anyone lounging around in a bathing suit. "Nope," I replied after thoroughly looking through several photographs. She pointed to a little bitty guy and uttered the name of a star. I pointed out how tiny the guy was and she answered, "They all are." I'm not naming names, but since then I have read up on this actor. Officially, he's 5' 11." Actually, he's 5' 7"-5' 8" tops. Optical illusion? You bet.

Sid, I think you make a good point and this is why I am always hunting for the dimensions on most posted paintings especially paintings by the masters. I'm always dismayed when the information is listed in centimeters. I'm centimeter-challenged and way too lazy to compute the correct answer, but leaving out size information is a disservice to the viewer.

We need to see the whole picture and see how things relate to each other to get a total grasp of each situation. 

Your question came in after I posted the small painting heading this post. I had realized earlier that I needed to separate the mid/large sized paintings and the smallish paintings on my website so as not to confuse the viewer. I don't know the real criteria for what constitutes a small painting, but I decided on nothing larger than 10 inches in any direction. After seeing the above painting a friend said she couldn't wait to see a similar large painting. Sometimes subjects work better in a small format. We'll see.

Boss Hogg, above, is 36" square and the smaller unframed painting is 10" square.

Occasionally on social media I will show a painting in progress or in conjunction with others so that the viewer can get a feel for the correct size, but I realize I need to do more of this as it really can be very difficult to detect.

You might be able to tell which garlic is larger in the images below, but can you tell how much larger?

The first garlic is only 6" square. The painting directly above, White on White,  is 36" square.

As an aside, my painter mother was never in favor of painting something larger than its actual size.

It was just a preference, but I obviously disagree. It's a fun challenge to tackle.

Bright Side of Life is a just completed 48X48" oil on canvas. It dwarfs the small 6X6" painting of an orange sitting in front.

To give you some perspective, the orange is the same size as the small garlic.

And, to give you even more perspective, the large garlic painting is a foot smaller in each direction than the flower painting above.  

This isn't exactly an answer to your question, but many of us are fooled by those miniature rooms which are now at the Knoxville Museum of Art, but formerly were displayed at the Dulin Gallery of Art during our youth. The magnificent Museum of the Shenandoah Valley in Winchester, VA has an exquisite display of miniatures designed by R. Lee Taylor. Click on the link to see if your eye is fooled by the image of the French Parlor. 

Comparing seems to be the key. The same actor mentioned above may seem huge compared to a much smaller actor, but tiny compared to a man measuring 6.' A 6" painting may seem substantial if seen alone, but only an afterthought when sitting in front of something 6 or 8 times its size.

In painting we are always comparing and contrasting. We are always testing increments of lightness and darkness on a painting. This angle compared to that angle. This tone to that tone. This texture to that smooth surface.

We arrive at our answers based solely by using comparisons. 

With nothing to compare, we have no point of reference. 

With historical knowledge and a multitude of life experience, we will be able to get through this world-wide pandemic in a sane manner. Just use the comparison trick.  Someone mentioned Anne Frank living in isolation, but things didn't turn out so well for her. For me, I keep thinking how much better off I am than if I were living on a farm in France during World War II with the knowledge that the German tanks were headed down my road.

A note on the title Bright Side of Life-Coming up with titles is usually difficult, but in our current situation, this name popped in my head. My favorite song from the musical Spamalot is Always Look on the Bright Side of Life, hence the name. Do whatever it takes to achieve this frame of mind.

I prefer to boycott the news, do what I can to comply, and then create.

Enjoy the process!

  Ruthie Windsor-Mann

This post is part of a series of Q & As between Ruthie Windsor-Mann and Sidney Oliver. 

We invite the reader to join in with other questions in the comments section. This needs to be interactive in order to work.

All photographs are by Ruthie Windsor-Mann unless otherwise credited.

Copyright 2020 Ruthie Windsor-Mann All Rights Reserved